The period that Crimson Skies is set in is pretty much the Golden Age of Radio, for its time it was the top of the food chain in the entertainment industry leaving us with a legacy of archtypes that were the building blocks of our modern mass media. Radio drama is an acquired taste and does not appeal to the mass markets of today who are used to the wizz-bangs of video special effects. However the advent of the internet as a distribution medium and computer hardware and software have fueled a renewed interest in audio drama that has its roots in OTR (Old Time Radio) but is tailored to modern tastes.

I intend producing a series of 10-15 minute audio dramas, initially a proof of concept mini-series of three episodes, based on the concept of a radio news programme that is reporting on international air piracy. Each episode will be self-contained but will have the possibility of being expanded on with further episodes or linking in with your existing fan fiction. As characters I will be developing a "news anchor" plus a number of "reporters", who will act as narrators and players, that might include ...

An undercover investigative crime reporter

An ex-pirate flier with links to the gangs

An industry expert on the airplane industry

A military intelligence expert

A social gossip reporter

Editorial comment by a hard-bitten newspaper type

What I would like would be scripts - or short story submissions that I can help you turn into scripts - from forum members or anyone you think might be interested. I'll be calling for submissions on various fan fiction forums as well but I'll make this forum the "home forum" for the project.

This will hinge heavily on getting a good sound editor/director but I know where to look. Casting shouldn't be a problem but I would like submissions to include international characters with a range of accents: Canadian, Russian, Spanish, German etc to encourage international participation of voice actors. Grant, I would like to work with you to make something that will fit in with your Australian/South Pacific storyline.

I'll probably negotiate with an existing audio production group to share the production/distribution work, unless we have someone who could sound edit or put together the distribution for us? Good sound editing takes practice and I'm merely competent but the webservices are not hard to do, basically just setting up a webpage with RSS podcasting facilities. Over the weekend I'll put together a spec script as an example that I'll share on an agreement of non-disclosure.

It will probably be produced as a Silvertongue Production but full credit and fan media coverage will be given to individuals or groups who participate.

While re-reading this thread, I had a sudden thought, would this include those "old time radio" story shows?I know that my parents and grand parents use to listen to them, they were live coreographed complete with music and sound effects.Would your news bulletins also include any of these story shows?

Sorry I've been offline for a couple of day's - my ISP, BigPond went down yesterday morning, We went into Sydney overnight for a concert (John Farnham - GREAT!), the hotel's internet wouldn't work for my NetBook and when I got home it took Bigpond 35minutes to re-set my connection. Other than that it's been a good start to the weekend!

Grant wroteColonI'll putter around and try to think something up Two questions.#1. Were you wanting fan/player audio as well or just ideas?#2. Any particular "Emphasis" you want? I have a few differant ways I could go

#1. It depends on what you have in mind. The normal procedure for an internet based audio production is that the Voice Actors (VAs) record their lines on their home computer and then send them to the director/editor who cleans it up and puts it all together with the other people's lines, music, sound effects, getting volume levels right etc etc. To be fair to everyone concerned in the production, the VA parts are put up in a casting call (as I did HERE) and the part goes to the best audition #2. Think of each episode as being an collection of 3-4 pieces from different sources, all supposedly live broadcast, one could be action/adventure (a clandestine radio message from a pirate zep) another could be comedic (and here in the studio we have Professor xxxx with the latest about the new Albatross Industry's Flying Brick) a third could be a teaser for a play by email campaign (Tension along the border between Texas and Mexico is high with the news that ...)

foxmalcolm wroteColonWhile re-reading this thread, I had a sudden thought, would this include those "old time radio" story shows?I know that my parents and grand parents use to listen to them, they were live coreographed complete with music and sound effects.Would your news bulletins also include any of these story shows?

Old Time Radio - OTR - is a love/hate thing for me. There are examples that are AMAZING, that are ICONIC and there are SOME I reckon they should teach in school! In fact my kids did THIS for a High School talent night and it was really popular!

However times change and what was popular in 1940 sounds to me slow moving and, frankly, disembodied, talking heads. I'll readily admit that this could be a personal prejudice and I mean no disrespect to those who are fans of these shows but it's simply a matter of personal taste, although there are definate differences between radio drama and internet based, podcast Audio Drama.

So will this production be OTR? I will be making every endeavor to make it sound like it is from 1937 but it will be aimed at a modern audience without being a parody. The music will be original (I'll need to do some research on that) and there will be references to real life people of the time. Will I make reference to contemporary radio programs? Good idea - I might refer to them as either competitors or as shows on the same network.

Hmmm, why not mix in references to radio or pulp magazine characters of the time as protagonists in the CS universe? Fu Man Chu? El Borak? Sam Spade? Just side references, because the situation with American copyright is different from ours in Australia, but something to give it the "pulp" flavour of the time would be great.